TY - JOUR
AU - Andalón,Mabel
AU - Williams,Jenny
AU - Grossman,Michael
TI - Empowering Women: The Effect of Schooling on Young Women's Knowledge and Use of Contraception
JF - National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series
VL - No. 19961
PY - 2014
Y2 - March 2014
DO - 10.3386/w19961
UR - http://www.nber.org/papers/w19961
L1 - http://www.nber.org/papers/w19961.pdf
N1 - Author contact info:
Mabel Andalón
Department of Economics
University of Melbourne VIC 3010
Australia
E-Mail: andalon.mabel@gmail.com
Jenny Williams
Department of Economics
University of Melbourne VIC 3010
Australia
Tel: 011-61-0466169612
E-Mail: jenny@unimelb.edu.au
Michael Grossman
National Bureau of Economic Research
5 Hanover Square, 16th Floor, Suite 1602
New York, NY 10004-2630
Tel: (917) 261-3127
Fax: (917) 426-7015
E-Mail: mgrossman@gc.cuny.edu
AB - Large differences in fertility between women with high and low levels of education suggest that schooling may have a direct impact on knowledge and use of contraception. We investigate this issue using information on women in Mexico. In order to identify the causal effect of schooling, we exploit temporal and geographic variation in the number of lower secondary schools built following the extension of compulsory education in Mexico from 6th to 9th grade in 1993. We show that raising females' schooling beyond 6th grade increases their knowledge of contraception during their reproductive years and increases their propensity to use contraception at sexual debut. This indicates that the impact of schooling on women's wellbeing extends beyond improved labor market outcomes and includes greater autonomy over their fertility.
ER -